Iowa caucuses

The Electrocuted Man One stormy night, as I was out walking just outside of Lime Spring, Iowa, lightning began flashing every second across the sky. The wind developed a creepy whistle to it. Whoooo! Whooo! While I walked across the bridge over the Upper Iowa River, the water started to rise. Higher and higher every second. Soon the water was over the bridge. I started to run full sprint, so I wouldn’t get caught in the rushing water. As I was running, I came to a halt. The rain was still…

Sylvia Plath’s “Morning Song” explores a mother’s complex emotions towards her newborn child after giving birth for the first time. Although motherhood is often regarded as a joyous event that gives a woman’s life purpose and meaning, “Morning Song” instead depicts motherhood as a complicated event fraught with uncertainty and fear, but also with love and affection. Rather than expressing overwhelming love and happiness, the mother in the poem feels distant from her child and gradually learns to…

minutes to make a case for their candidate. A person attending a caucus does not just show up and vote, they listen to what the people the candidates sent, have to say. Caucuses don't happen in every state, only a handful of them. Caucuses are held in: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Iowa (What Is a Caucus and How Does It Work?). The purpose of a caucus is to get local gatherings, where voters decide which candidate to support, and to select…

money from party elites, activists, donors and interest groups. Christenson and Smidt (2012, 598) emphasize the fact that recent scholarship has used a candidate’s level of funding and national political support at the start of the primaries and caucuses as indicators of the successfulness of candidates in the invisible primary. They go on to include party endorsements as an indicator of candidate success, as it is a…

State parties use two methods when selecting national convention delegates, they use primaries and caucuses. Primaries and caucuses can be perceived as the first step toward presidency. Some states only hold primary election and others only hold caucuses, but there are also some states that use both primaries and caucuses. States like California and Washington are examples of states who use the primary election method otherwise known as preliminary election. Primary systems are used to select a…

After an anxious night for both Democratic and Republican candidates, Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton win pulling out close wins in Iowa. Due to a very close tie between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, CNN did not confirm Hillary Clinton’s win until around 1pm on Tuesday. "The results tonight are the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history," Iowa party chairman Andy McGuire said. New Hampshire is the next state to vote on February 9, with Sanders holding a strong lead he is expected to…

president. To even be considered, one must be an individual of some sort of governmental position. For example, if your very opinionated Uncle Bubba who works at the Hot Rod Mechanics down the street says he wants to join the candidacy, he can’t! From caucuses to campaigning, the steps it takes to reach those special podiums are towering. Firstly, there are a few requirements that limit some people from even considering running for president. These guidelines include being a natural born…

“Exhibition Stage,” also known as the invisible primary due to the fact that there is nothing in place to indicate how well a candidate is performing during this timeframe. It takes up the period following a general election, up until just before the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary. During this time candidates are forming their campaigns and raising money, but they are also paying special visits to New Hampshire and partaking in special events.…

One of the most uncommon debates was held on Thursday night, just four days before the Iowa caucuses: A republican debate without a front runner. Donald Trump did not attend the debate as he claimed that Fox News and the moderator Megyn Kelly treated him poorly. Instead, Donald Trump held his own event, raising money for veterans. That being said, seven rivals were left on stage, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Rand Paul. The six previous debates…

The duty of the primaries and the caucuses allow the states to choose an early date on the nomination calendar in order to make their state more important during the nomination process known as “front-loading.” Currently, the first caucus in the US is in Iowa and the first primary is in New Hampshire. Every year each party holds a national convention to nominate its presidential and vice presidential…